‘Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc’ Episode 7 Recap & Ending Explained: Does Tokito Escape His Water Prison?
Welcome to the Recap and Ending Explained for Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc, Episode 7, titled “Awful Villain.” This episode doesn’t only follow Tanjiro and his fight with the Upper Rank 4 Demon, Hantengu. Still, it also gives us a status check on what is happening with Tokito, the Mist Hashira, and his fight against the Upper Rank 5 Demon, Gyokko. The episode really moves things forward and gives great development to many characters at once. This episode serves as a payoff for many other things that have been set up so far in the season.
In the previous episode, we saw how Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya were battling the four different separate forms of Hantengu. However, it wasn’t long before they realized that they needed to cut off all their heads to kill the demon completely. The demon would not be defeated if even one of the heads were left standing. Tanjiro and Genya managed to track down the original Hantengu, the last neck to be cut. Having received a boost thanks to his sister’s blood, Tanjiro was about to cut the neck of the little demon, who had the mark of a coward on his head. However, it couldn’t be that easy.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc, Episode 7. Read at your own risk.
Did Tanjiro Manage To Cut Hantengu’s Neck?
The previous episode left us with a massive cliffhanger; we had to learn about Genya’s backstory and how his origins are similar to Tanjiro’s. Both of them ended up losing their families thanks to a demon attack, and in the end, they were only left with one of their siblings and the prospect of becoming stronger and creating a new life for themselves. Genya stopped the enemies to give Tanjiro time to prepare an attack that could cut Hantengu’s neck and stop the nightmare. Tanjiro’s flaming sword was about to cut the demon’s neck.
However, when Tanjiro’s sword makes contact, it clashes with the demon’s tough skin. Tanjiro realizes that he might not be able to cut Hantengu’s neck. He pushes his attack to the max in search of the kill, but his instincts go on alarm. Someone has sneaked on him from behind, and it is someone who is quite dangerous. Tanjiro feels that he is about to die. Whoever this person is, intends to kill him, and he might be unable to avoid their attack. Tanjiro decides to keep cutting Hantengu’s neck, even if it costs him his life. The stranger behind him unleashes their attack.
It seems Tanjiro is about to die, but Nezuko manages to snatch him from the air at the last moment. She saves Tanjiro, but the attack costs her an arm and a leg. Fortunately, her demon blood allows her to regenerate, and her limbs return. Tanjiro looks at the enemy, and a new demon in front of him strikes him. Is it a sixth demon? It seems impossible, as Tanjiro never felt another presence while battling the others. However, the person in front of them is completely different. The demon’s energy pressure is outstanding.
Tanjiro feels his heart panicking, and Genya, who is still alive but wounded, feels the weight of the demon’s energy pressure. He doesn’t think he can move in the presence of this creature. Everyone seems confused by the presence of this new enemy, but he seems stronger than all the other Hantengu’s forms combined. Genya explains that he saw one of the demons grab the others and then basically absorb them. The result of that fusion is this demon. Its power is immeasurable. When he speaks, he says that he will punish Tanjiro for being an awful villain.
Does Tokito Escape His Water Prison?
The demon begins to talk to Tanjiro, Genya, and Nezuko. He calls them awful villains and says he will punish them for their crimes. Genya is frozen, and Nezuko is on alert. However, the demon’s words seem to trigger Tanjiro. He asks the demon why, and he says they are the villains. The demon answers by saying they are villains because they pursue the weak and that just a few moments ago, Tanjiro was about to cut the neck of a weak, frightened little demon. Tanjiro cannot believe the demon is trying to play the victim and swears he will cut the demon’s head himself.
Meanwhile, we finally return to Tokito, the Mist Hashira, and see how his fight is going. Not very well, mind you. The last we saw of this fight was Tokito getting captured in a water pot. Gyokko, the Upper Rank 5 demon, leaves Tokito to his fate as he drowns slowly in the water jar. Tokito tries to use his last air to make a breathing attack, but it is futile. His last attack is not strong enough to break the water jar, so he stays there without moving, basically accepting his fate. He will die in this place, and his path to becoming strong will be a dream. However, as Tokito drifts into death, he sees a vision of Tanjiro.
The vision begins to speak to him in Tanjiro’s voice and tells him that it is not his decision when to die. Tokito can still save many people, and they need his help right now. Only he is capable of helping others. The vision repeats what Tanjiro once said: that it is okay to ask for help and that helping others is actually good for yourself in the long run. Meanwhile, Gyokko enters the shack and encounters both Kanamori and Haganezuka inside. Haganezuka finishes polishing the sword Tanjiro and Kotetsu found inside the ancient mechanical doll.
Gyokko is baffled by Haganezuka’s concentration. The man is just doing his work and doesn’t pay attention to the demon who shares his shack. Gyokko says killing the swordsmith would be too easy; he wants to grab his attention. He attacks, but Haganezuka pays no mind. His mask is destroyed, and we see his face for the first time, and he still just focuses on polishing the sword to get it ready for Tanjiro. Outside the shack, Kotetsu appears and tries to help Tokito out, but a demon attacks him. However, with his last breath, Kotetsu gets his face into the water jar and breathes.
The air Kotetsu breathes into the jar gets into Tokito’s lungs, and he can finally deliver an attack powerful enough to break the water jar. Tokito then remembers who Tanjiro reminds him of. Tokito reveals that his father has the same red eyes as Tanjiro. Couldn’t this mean they are related somehow? We have to wait and see.
